Chicken with Olive-Tomato Relish

This recipe from the March/April 2010 issue of Clean Eating Magazine was a perfect choice for our after-church Sunday lunch. It came together incredibly quickly because I used two pre-cooked chicken breasts (from my massive food-prep day!) and pre-cooked quinoa from when I made tuna nicoise casserole last week. I served green beans--whole, frozen, thawed in microwave--with Earth Balance and fresh cantaloupe on the side. I halved the recipe for me and The H since I knew the little guy wouldn't care for it. He was happy with his picnic-esque plate of turkey, cheese, melon, and edamame.

Chicken with Olive Cherry-Tomato Relish

from Clean Eating Magazine

serves 4

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, quartered

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

3 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp ground black pepper, divided

4 6-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, olives, vinegar, oregano, oil, and 1/4 tsp peper. Set aside.

2. Sprinkle chicken on both sides with salt and remaining 1/4 tsp pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook 6 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Serve topped with tomato relish.

We subbed grape tomatoes for the cherry called for, because that is what was on sale this week. Because my chicken was already cooked, I simply heated it through in a hot skillet with olive oil to give it a touch of color, and added the salt and pepper directly to the tomato relish instead of the chicken. I also used just 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano in the relish and it was extremely flavorful.

Altogether, this made for a delicious and lightning-fast meal. It was very filling! I loved the flavors of the relish; for only marinating a few minutes while I threw everything else together, it was very well-rounded.

I would like to do as the magazine suggests, and use the topping on a fish fillet or roasted/grilled portobello sometime. This recipe is part of a mix-and-match feature of this issue, so it doesn't suggest a carb outright, but the quinoa was delicious mixed with the relish, so I'm glad I opted for that. Besides, using it up gives me back one of my leftover containers. Bonus!

This would even make a decent cold salad if you chopped the chicken and mixed it all up, so if you don't have access to a microwave at work (or time to reheat it at home--I know how life gets with a little one) don't be afraid to try it anyway.

Nutrition information for 1 chicken breast and 1/2 cup relish:

Calories - 250

Total fat - 5g

Saturated fat - 1.5g

Carbs - 7g

Fiber - 3g

Sugars - 3g

Protein - 36g

Sodium - 350mg

Cholesterol - 95mg